Itinerary & Journal

This is the first page (Second Page) of the itinerary that we were given for the trip. For the most part we were able to stay pretty close to this.

One of the things that I've learned in life is that if you really want to remember something... write it down. So, for recent trips that I've been on I've tried to keep a journal. For some trips this is more effective than for others. For the Grand Canyon trip, it worked out pretty well. We had enough free time to actually allow me to write in the journal. Journal excerpts are given below, and you can click on them to go to the full entry for that day. I truly hope that you enjoy reading them as much as I've enjoyed making this webpage and remembering just how amazing is the Grand Canyon.

Day 1: Champaign, Illinois to Elk City, Oklahoma

Meet at the Outdoor Rec Center at 6:30am. Drive until we get to the Elk City KOA.

Journal Excerpt

... 8:00pm. Loud noise. Tire blowout. Luckily, the van is a dually, so Bob still had pretty good control. We pulled off to the side of the road....

Day 2: Elk City, Oklahoma to Flagstaff, Arizona

Drive until we get to the the National Forest just south of Flagstaff, Arizona.

Journal Excerpt

... We then ate at Joe & Aggies. It is a Mexican place that is the oldest restaurant on Route 66. I had a taco and tostada. I bought a t-shirt. The restaurant is going to be in the movie Cars which is coming out in June from Disney/Pixar...

Day 3: Flagstaff, Arizona to Grand Canyon National Park

Visit Oak Creek Canyon south of Flagstaff, pick up supplies, hike up Red Butte, and then into the Park to sleep at Mather Campground.

Journal Excerpt

.... On top of Red Butte, they have a fire watch station. "Bruce" the firewatcher was at the top, and we chatted with him for a while. Bruce was a neat guy. He's a painter, and has a gallery in Moab, Utah. He spends a couple of weeks at a time on the top of Red Butte, and said that he was seeing about 1 fire a day, but if it stayed dry for a few more days that he would likely see quite a bit more action....

Day 4: Grand Canyon National Park

Free Day. Pack for hike in the afternoon.

Journal Excerpt

.... Then he said, 'actually, we hiked all the way from the North Rim'. That's a 23 mile hike, so I figured he was joking. Come to find out, they had, indeed, left the North Rim the previous morning....

Day 5, First Day of Hike: Grand Canyon National Park

New Hance/Red Canyon Trail. End at river's edge.

Journal Excerpt

... Each milestone that we hit before the hike gets me slightly more nervous. I can't wait for the feeling of going down below the rim for the first time....

Continue on to the second page of the itinerary